Francis Ford Coppola cast “cancelled” actors in Megalopolis because he didn’t want to be seen as “some woke Hollywood production”

Francis Ford Coppola told Rolling Stone that he didn’t want Megalopolis to be looked upon as “some woke Hollywood production,” which is why the cast includes a few controversial actors.

Megalopolis features a sprawling ensemble cast, which includes Jon Voight, noted for his conservative views and being a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, as well as Shia LaBeouf, who has been accused of sexual assault. “What I didn’t want to happen is that we’re deemed some woke Hollywood production that’s simply lecturing viewers,” Coppola said. “The cast features people who were canceled at one point or another. There were people who are archconservatives and others who are extremely politically progressive. But we were all working on one film together. That was interesting, I thought.“

Coppola did add that things were tense between himself and LaBeouf. “Shia [LaBeouf] really took to it,” Coppola said. “I had no experience working with him prior to this, but he deliberately sets up a tension between himself and the director to an extreme degree. He reminds me of Dennis Hopper, who would do something similar, and then you’d say, ‘Just go do anything,’ and then they go off and do something brilliant.“

A new trailer for Megalopolis was released last week, but it was pulled just hours later when it became apparent that the quotes from negative reviews of Coppola’s previous movies, such as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, had been faked. “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis,” said a Lionsgate spokesperson. “We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry.“

The official synopsis for Megalopolis reads: “Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina, a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.” The film is currently slated to hit theaters on September 27th.